


Starting Over

by Maiden_of_Wolves



Series: Ella Warley & Yoosung Kim's Story [4]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Another Story Style Saeran w/start of Unknown, Bits of Every Route, Complicated Relationships, Developing Friendships, F/M, Gen, Heavy Angst, In-Depth AU, Learning a New Language, Learning to be Bilingual, Love Triangle and/or Polyamory Later, Not Beta Read, Obsessive Yoosung, Often Slow to Update, Physical and Emotional Pain, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-deprecating humor, Slow recovery, Sub!Yoosung and Switch!Yoosung, Surgery, Switch!707/Saeyoung, learning how to live again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-05-17 00:18:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14821644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiden_of_Wolves/pseuds/Maiden_of_Wolves
Summary: NOTE: In order to not be terribly lost at first, you'll need to read the other parts of this series. "The Best Vacation Ever" and "Advice Among Friends".Ella Warley had made her choices. She was going to fade away without bothering anyone... but Yoosung Kim was stubborn. He couldn't let her go; not without a fight. This is their story, travelling through treatments and then through our beloved RFA members' tale.Love can do a lot of things, but can it cure cancer, heal broken hearts and break down the barriers surrounding others? The world is full of grey, and love is just as filled with contradictions as we are.





	1. An Unexpected Interruption

Ella Warley wasn’t sure why she decided to still have a phone. Or, at least, one that could connect to the internet and thus to other people besides emergency services. It chimed sweetly at her every once in a while and she checked it a couple times a day but the news was mostly just Fakebook notices from her friends about life events. There was so many wonderful things she’d missed in the months since the diagnosis. She spent some time each day catching up on the news of babies her friends and family had welcomed into the world; their new relationships and their marriages. Life went on for everyone else… while she was waiting for hers to end. It was quite the silent spectacle, really. If she wasn’t the one waiting she might have even called it an beautiful, if heart-wrenching, story.

 

As she stared out the nearly floor-length windows of this modernized cabin on the mountainside, she was grateful for her friends. A college friend of hers, Kelly, had allowed her to use this place for the remainder of the year and into the spring of the next. It was her family’s retreat, usually used for the small group to come together for a bit of glamping and quality time once a year and they’d already used it for their time this year so she wouldn’t have to worry about finding a new place to pass until late spring of next year.

 

Very few people knew about what Ella was doing, and she knew she had a few friends that would have spent a great deal of effort setting up and kick-starting a GoFundMe for her, but Ella was never one to rely on charity. So, for now, only those she knew would respect her decision after she explained her reasoning were let in on her condition. She often debated just turning off her phone so she could pretend that the world no longer existed and just enjoy the fresh Appalachian air.

 

The only other thing she had that was personal was her laptop. Keeping that, however, made sense— it was to keep her entertained on days she couldn’t really go outside, either from particularly pervasive lower abdominal pain that would affect her lower back or legs or because of poor weather. She had disabled her laptop’s wi-fi the moment she’d gotten onto the plane bound for Richmond International. The decision was mostly to keep herself from trying to look up Yoosung on Fakebook, were she honest with herself.

 

Even though she kept telling herself that it was better for both of them and had left the note she did, she still wanted to contact him. Throughout the long trip him she consoled herself with all the pictures from the journey she’d just undertaken, smiling to herself as she read some emails from Jaxon and Robert as well as Mila and her daughter Claudia. A small part of her cried out that she was cruel to treat Yoosung any differently than she had all the other friends she’d made on this trip. The rest of her, however, knew better. They had been toeing the line of something more than friends and she wouldn’t have been surprised to find that she would’ve been Yoosung’s first romantic relationship. She couldn’t condemn him to falling for a dying woman, not to mention one that he wouldn’t be able to see again regardless because neither of them would be able to fly to see each other. **That** was what wasn’t fair to him, more than anything.

 

Today she was laid up on the couch, trying to nap through a particularly intense session of cramping and radiating pain. Whenever this kind of thing happened now she tended to joke to herself about how she had been lucky to not have horrible, debilitating cramps on her period. Anything to make light of the situation, since she also found herself in moments of weakness thinking about how she could call her father and get treatment. He could probably afford it, being a high powered civil attorney that typically represented corporations, but she would never involve him in her life if she could avoid it. He may have ruled over her mother until her dying day but Ella would not let him do the same to her. She’d gotten out from under his narcissistic megalomania the moment she was legally able to do so. He hadn’t made it easy, hounding her and finding her through his contacts and when that stopped working he hired several private investigators to find her. One had even physically dragged her back towards his car to get his “bounty” but thankfully others saw because she made it a point to scream. The friend she’d made from that encounter, a young woman named Lillian who had helped pull her away from what was little more than a headhunter, was a dear one to this day even though they did not talk often. Lillian had a family, children… and Ella was fairly certain she would have done anything she could to help her get treatment after a lengthy mothering lecture about stubbornness.   
  
Her mind wandered back to her past. Eventually, after she’d gotten a restraining order but that did little to help as her father completely ignored it. He had enough money to get out on bail the same evening he would be put into jail. She had changed addresses three times and phone numbers at least double that number to try and avoid him. In a last ditch effort, she’d had to change her first and last name then move to the opposite coast to keep away from him. The only thing she was glad for during that entire era of her life was that her father didn’t want her dead and didn’t own a gun. She didn’t miss being Justine Gardner for one second. Justine was an extension of her father; merely a puppet on a string. Ella could browse whatever websites she wanted, whenever she wanted without fear of her connection being severed or at the very least constantly monitored. Ella could go out with friends whenever she wanted. Ella could buy whatever she wanted and could afford. Ella was free. Ella was who Justine had wanted to be, had struggled in her father’s web of cruel tricks to be.

 

Her memories of how she established herself on the East Coast were interrupted by another friendly chime. She pulled up her phone, expecting to see another notice of a new Fakebook post but instead it was a text message. Her brows furrowed as she noticed the ID was in an asiatic character set and it was through WhatsApp. The message, however, was what shook her.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella! It is Yoosung!

 

Ella’s eyes widened to a point they felt as if they would push out of their sockets. “What?” she gasped aloud to herself. “How did he…?!” Several more came in before she could even think to properly unlock the phone and try to answer.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Answer, please!

 

Ella could practically hear him begging. She swallowed, brows knitting as she tried to keep her composure. Maybe she was just having a fever dream? She didn’t remember falling asleep… but it was the only thing that was reasonable to think at this point.  


**김유성** **★**

I need know you are okay!!

 

Ella’s heart clenched in her chest. She could just ignore this. Frankly, she **should** … but before she could force herself to put the phone down and turn it off she’d already unlocked it with her thumbprint on the home button and was staring at the WhatsApp conversation. As she fought with herself over how exactly she should respond, another message popped up.

  
**김유성** **★**

It say read!

 

Ella grimaced; she’d forgotten about that feature on here. It would be a lot harder to ignore him now.

  
**김유성** **★**

Please.

 

She swore she could hear him saying it. She hadn’t heard his voice in weeks but it floated back to her through her memories with ease.

  
**김유성** **★**

Ella…

 

She could see him start typing again and, since she still wasn’t sure how to deal with this, she waited until he finished. All the guilt she’d felt as she’d left him sleeping in that hotel room came flooding back. She’d lied to him about the time she had to leave just to be sure he wouldn’t try to get her to stay again. Why did he want to keep talking to her? _Just be like, “new phone, who dis?”_ She told herself. _Just … anything but actually—_

 

 **김유성** **★**

You said I am ‘angel’.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Let me be that.

 

Tears started to form in her eyes. This wasn’t fair. He wasn’t supposed to be able to read that note for months! Why now? Why just a few weeks later?! Before she’d realized it, her fingers flew across the screen and she’d replied. She had to know.

  
**Ella**

How did you figure out that letter so quickly?

 

She stared at the conversation for a moment, not seeing him responding. In the face of the virtual silence the questions and reactions she’d held back came bursting out.

 

**Ella**

I double encrypted it!

 

**Ella**

I didn’t sleep that whole night finishing it.

 

**Ella**

Why? Yoosung, I told you **not** to find me!

 

**Ella**

You read the letter, since you said I called you an angel. Why didn’t you just leave it alone?

 

 **김유성** **★**

I need to help

 

 **김유성** **★**

You deserve life

 

 **김유성** **★**

Please…

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella…

 

 **김유성** **★**

Let me help you

 

Ella scoffed, furious at him even though she doubted she could be if they were face to face. He was ignoring her wishes completely! A part of her could understand why he was doing it, but this was selfish on his part and she wanted him to understand that.

 

**Ella**

I have a plan! Everything was taken care of. **IS** taken care of!

 

**Ella**

Yoosung, I appreciate your intentions but this is **my** life

 

**Ella**

I’ve already made my choices

 

**Ella**

And I did my best to shield you from them

 

**Ella**

Because I knew that they would be hard for you to understand

 

**Ella**

Why didn’t you let me shield you?

 

**Ella**

Why did you have to find me when I expressly told you **not** to?

 

She watched with intense focus as the typing bubble appeared and then disappeared. It did so at least five more times, with increasing amounts between it being on the screen and off. Eventually he found a couple things to say.

 

 **김유성** **★**

I am call

 

 **김유성** **★**

Please answer

 

Within the minute, her phone sang out its default ballroom song for unknown numbers. Ella just stared at it and let it ring. He couldn’t speak English very well, she remembered. Why did he want to call? She didn’t want to hear him beg. She didn’t want to hear him at all—

 

Ella had tapped the green ‘accept’ button on the screen and put it to her ear before she could even register it had happened.

 

“Ella!” Yoosung cried, sounding extremely excited. Without preamble he started to talk to her, but it was in extremely hurried Korean so she couldn’t even catch a word of it.

 

“Yoosung,” Ella said. Her voice was little more than a harsh whisper.

 

All noise on the other end immediately ceased.

 

For a brief moment she thought that the call might have been disconnected but then she heard him breathing. He was still there, just listening. “I didn’t understand anything but my name there. But please. Just…” she paused, sighing heavily. “I need you to stop this. If you do really care about me, delete this number—”

 

“ **No**.” He simply said, his voice edged in a way that Ella had never heard before. “You deserve life! Let me be angel. You need help.”

 

He wasn’t listening and she wasn’t going to let him chastise her over her own life choices. She was fuming, regardless of how much she’d cared… it felt like **he** didn’t. Not really. “I tried to keep you away from this!” Ella interrupted him. “Tried to make it so you only saw the good parts, but you’ve pushed into my reality. You want to be a part of it so badly?!” She all but growled at him as she continued. “I am in pain most days, but I am safe. I have a place my friend is letting me stay at. It’s safe and alone on a mountain. I won’t bother anyone while I slip away and I have a beautiful view every morning. I have accepted that I’m going to die, Yoosung. You don’t get to just insist that I can’t do that. It’s **my** life. I will not be owned by anyone. Banks, friends, a charity fundraiser. It doesn’t matter. I’ll die and I’ll no longer be a burden to anyone. Let. Me. Go.”

 

That said, she pulled the phone back and ended the call. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” she said, her voice breaking into a strained sob as she tossed the phone onto the coffee table without caring if it was damaged or slid off. It rang again. He was calling back. This time, she just put an arm over her eyes and let her tears flow. Another full ringtone, then it was quiet for a minute. When the once-charming chimes of message alerts started up she groaned and sniffed, turning over on her couch. He was turning her terminal haven into a emotional wreckage zone.

 

She wanted to get up, to block his number, but her body refused to move. Or was it that her mind wasn’t really set on it? Ella couldn’t tell the difference, instead curling up further onto the couch and begging silently for her phone to stop chiming.


	2. Acceptance

It was cold. Ella couldn’t remember the last time she felt cold. As she moved, however, she realized why. She’d fallen asleep on the couch. A groan slipped over her lips as she moved because her lower back shot pain up her spine. She shouldn’t have slept like this but there was nothing to do about it now. She shifted the decorative pillow off her head and tossed it to the other side of the couch. Her gaze shifted to her phone as she sat up with a grimace as she adjusted to her pain and remembered what had happened before she went to sleep. Yoosung had found her, messaged her and then called her. She had pushed him away but he kept insisting and she didn’t even bother trying to figure out how long he continued to call or message after she hung up and tossed the phone to the other side of the room. Considering her tendency to be a light sleeper she wasn’t sure how she managed to sleep with all the noise the phone’s notifications must have been causing, but she supposed that exhaustion can overwhelm even that eventually.

 

Her eyes sought out her phone, which was still on the floor on the other side of the room from her, but left it alone after staring warily at it for a few moments. There were no more audible notifications, but she didn’t want to see the reminders on the lock screen. Ella wasn’t sure how to deal with any of that just yet. She both needed to and never wanted to know how many times Yoosung had texted her or tried to call or left voicemails. Feeling the guilt pool up again, Ella turned her attention to the kitchen. She had no idea what time it was, and at this point in her life it hardly mattered. _10:14_ the microwave read as she walked over and the information made Ella chuckle. By this time just six months or so ago she would have been at work for around two hours and awake for three.

 

After rummaging through the pantry she found some honey flavored cereal and poured herself a generous bowl full before seating herself on one of the stools up against the kitchen island. As she munched away on her breakfast, her mind wandered back to her current state. While the radiating pains and cramp-like symptoms were difficult, they weren’t yet at a point that they were unmanageable. It had been a relief that they hadn’t really bothered her until after she came home to fade away. Sleeping had been the major problem recently, since it had become nigh impossible to find a position that wouldn’t cause her pain after laying down for a few hours at a time. It didn’t help that new symptoms had arrived since she came to the cabin; she bled at random intervals and sometimes it was as heavy as a real period even though it had not yet been that time of the month since she’d come up here. She even had to be careful not to sit too fast or she’d feel a sharp pain rocket up her spine. Ella wondered how much worse it would get while she waited, but it wasn’t enough to make her afraid. She’d chosen this path, now she had to walk it.  
  
As she recalled the thought process that had gotten her to this point, she realized it wasn’t as freeing an option as she had been expecting. Just waiting to die felt more like a prison than working her ass off for years to be independent had. At least while on her own she was able to go out if she wanted, though it was rare. She didn’t have to pay special attention to how she moved or slept. And at least she had her full support network of friends normally; now, she was relegated to less people than she could count on her hand and her world felt intensely small. She wondered, as she chewed at her latest mouthful of cereal, if this really had been the best idea. Ella felt like she couldn’t go back. She’d committed to this, set up a place to be and shut herself off from others. What would they say if she just appeared back in their lives?

 

...but how would they feel she kept this up and just didn’t ever come back? How would those that she’d confided in during this time deal with her other friends finding out that they’d hidden this from them? Ella hadn’t really considered how it might also cause problems for the friends she’d confided in. She’d specified in her will that Kelly would handle her death arrangements but stipulated that she didn’t really have a preference for what she did. It had just been one of those online forms, so she didn’t have to talk to someone about her plans. She sighed as she realized that she’d put her spoon in an empty bowl, letting the tool clatter into the container. _What were friends for, if not to help you through the rough times so you could all celebrate the good ones?_ She recalled, her college roommate Carol had told her that once, during one of many all-night-cram sessions. _We’ll get through this, then be able to party. That’s the point!_ The memory made her mind turn to her phone again. Was that… how Yoosung felt too?

 

She wandered back over into the den, staring at her phone on the floor from afar again. Just what good would come of her getting back in touch with him? Why couldn’t she just push him away? She needed to block his number. Maybe if she deleted the pictures…? _No_ , came the immediate, almost breathlessly desperate response from her mind. Or was it her heart? It hurt to even think about trying to forget her trip, much less Yoosung. That whole experience was supposed to help her feel complete, like she’d done her bucket list and was ready to die. Why, then, was it now making her question herself?

 

Ella finally gathered up the nerve to go get her phone. She was careful as she bent down to retrieve it so as to not disturb her inflamed womb and was just as delicate as she sat down. _3 missed calls_ , it read as she scrolled down the farthest the notifications would allow. “No voicemails, though,” she noted with a mirthless chuckle. _It probably wouldn’t have been easy for him to voice his thoughts anyway_ , she dismissed in her head.

 

Then came the messages. This was what she had been afraid of seeing, but she scrolled through them anyway and was careful not to fully open any of them. As long as she didn’t open WhatsApp, it shouldn’t mark them as read.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella please!

 **김유성** **★**

Answer!

 

Two more missed calls notifications. Ella felt horrible about ignoring him like this and it only intensified the longer she scrolled.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Why?

 

 **김유성** **★**

You are angel too!

 

 **김유성** **★**

I can help.

 

 **김유성** **★**

I will help if u let. Promise! I have friend who p ... _[read more in app]_

 

Ella barely stopped herself from clicking the message to read more. She couldn’t afford to have him see that she’d read these, not yet anyway. She continued scrolling upwards. She noted there had been a break between the last text and this one of about two hours.

 

 **김유성** **★**

No read…

 

 **김유성** **★**

Break phone…?

 

 **김유성** **★**

No. If that messages not send

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella… I miss you

 

 **김유성** **★**

Please text

 

Another break, Ella noted. This time about half an hour. It hurt even more knowing that he’d had nothing but radio silence and kept trying. What was he thinking? Why did he want this so badly?

 

 **김유성** **★**

Remember Kkotji?

 

 **김유성** **★**

[sends picture of her playing in the water]

 

 **김유성** **★**

U happy there

 

 **김유성** **★**

Just need to know that ur OK

 

 **김유성** **★**

And… maybe…

 

 **김유성** **★**

Go back with me someday?

 

 **김유성** **★**

>///<

 

He was so cute. A tiny smile pulled at her lips for a moment even as she felt shitty about all this. She noted there was some time that passed between those texts and the newer ones. The next batch were sent around 2 AM and the idea that she’d robbed him of sleep ate at her until she recalled that the US was about 13 hours behind South Korea. It had been the middle of the day when he’d texted her. With the initial worry put aside, another smaller one took its place: she wondered if he had been in class today and if he had if all this had made him so distracted that he couldn’t pay attention.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Go to class now

 

 **김유성** **★**

No call please

 

 **김유성** **★**

Text!

 

Well that explained that worry. He had been off to class. The time on the next batch put it at around 8 PM his time which was about two hours ago.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Can talk now

 

 **김유성** **★**

When u want…

 

So he was home now. Still waiting and wanting her to contact him. Ella put the phone next to her on the couch before leaning back. She let her head flop backwards to stare up blankly at the ceiling so her mind could sort through all this. The thought of blocking the number floated back through her mind, but she couldn’t act on it. She wanted to talk to him again. Now that he knew about her situation, he could be one of the few people she could talk to in her self-imposed solitude. She didn’t want to lose that, regardless of her resistance to accept ‘help’.

 

Leaning forward again she grasped her phone and Ella’s short term memory actually reminded her that she needed to look at that one ‘read more’ text first. She scrolled back through, finally finding it and clicking on it to open up WhatsApp.

 

 **김유성** **★**

I will help if u let. Promise! I have friend who pay for treatment. He will help. Just need u say yes…

 

She snorted. Didn’t she already go over this with him? She didn’t want anyone paying for this. Maybe she needed to explain. As much as she wanted to be nice and kind and just talk… she couldn’t ignore this.

 

**Ella**

If I wanted someone to pay for my treatments, I could have asked my father. But I don’t want to owe anyone. I will not live in service to someone else because they ‘saved me’. That’s the point of me doing what I’m doing. No debt to pay, no life of servitude.

 

The typing notice popped up immediately, but then faded after a moment. He must have been happy she answered, but then realized what she’d actually said. It took him a minute but he eventually texted back.

 

 **김유성** **★**

… but u said u r at friend place…

 

 **김유성** **★**

No owe?

 

He was right, in a way, but that didn’t make his offer any more reasonable. Frankly, Ella was just glad that he wasn’t asking for more detail about her father. That was the last person she wanted to talk about when she was vulnerable.

 

**Ella**

No. She offered the assistance. Just like she offered to handle my affairs when I finally die.

 

There was no reply from Yoosung, at least not for several minutes. She could only speculate that what she’d said was hard for him to process. She’d accepted the fact of death and had to remind herself that others had not and would not choose as she did. Finally, after several appearances and disappearances of the [...] typing notification, he answered.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Jumin is friend. He would help. No debt.

 

**Ella**

People with that much money to throw around don’t just give it away, Yoosung.

 

**Ella**

Did you already ask him to do this?

 

 **김유성** **★**

Asked if would. Said yes.

 

**Ella**

What else did he say? There has to be terms for this.

 

The [...] notification came and went several times and her mind turned this over in her head. Yoosung was hiding the terms from her. Trying to get her to agree to something that she didn’t know the whole picture of. Ella wasn’t that naive, but apparently he expected her to be. She liked Yoosung. A lot, in fact, but she knew better than to trust blindly.

 

As she thought about it more she found that she wasn’t angry with him. By all accounts she should have been, considering he was holding back with her and from some points of view attempting to trick her. Fact was, she couldn’t be. Yoosung was trying to do what he thought was right. That wide-eyed innocent lamb of a boy couldn’t hurt her and couldn’t stand to think she was going to die. It was heartwarming to think that he wanted to save her. Why he thought that she **should** be saved was what eluded her. Was he just trying to make sure she lived so he didn’t feel guilty for not intervening even though that was exactly what she’d requested of him? Before she could type out the inquiry, bordering on accusation, he replied.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Said u need to get visa lots of times

 

 **김유성** **★**

Because it is long time treatment

 

 **김유성** **★**

He do that. Knows people.

 

And there was one of the terms, she guessed. It would take some time, and during that time at the very least proper terms would be put forth. What better time to deal with someone that owed you than when they were lying sick in a hospital bed? She’d be especially easy to deal with, considering she had almost nothing to her name anymore.

 

**Ella**

So I’d have to live in South Korea.

 

**Ella**

Permanently, I assume.

 

 **김유성** **★**

I mean… if u want.

 

 **김유성** **★**

We could go to Kktoji again~

 

 **김유성** **★**

^^

 

Well. That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. He wanted her to? Before she could ask him that question, as well as the one that had been burning in her mind before she read the longest text and answered, Yoosung had begun texting back.

 

 **김유성** **★**

I ask Jumin to call.

 

 **김유성** **★**

He is great at English!

 

 **김유성** **★**

Please let him talk.

 

Ella’s fingers flew across the screen, not sure how long she had before this Jumin guy called. She had to ask Yoosung. To make sure this wasn’t some guilt trip. She wanted to trust him… but she couldn’t put the idea out of her head.

 

**Ella**

Yoosung, are you certain you’re not doing this just to not feel guilty?

 

**Ella**

I am okay with dying. You don’t need to feel guilty.

 

**Ella**

You deserve to have friends that can just live life with you.

 

**Ella**

Even if you ‘save’ me now...

 

**Ella**

You shouldn’t have to worry about me getting sick again.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella...

 

**Ella**

Or maybe not surviving the surgery or complications

 

 **김유성** **★**

Please just… talk to Jumin.

 

She had just finished typing his name when the phone screen shifted to show an incoming call. An unfamiliar number with a strange number set that clearly wasn’t from the US. _This must be Jumin._ She let it ring twice before she picked up, uncertain why she even decided to talk to this guy.

 

“Hello…?” she offered, voice far more uncertain than she’d intended it to be.

 

An annoyed sigh came from the line. “Didn’t Yoosung tell you I would be calling?”

 

Ella blinked. This dude’s accent was thick, but he was clearly fluent and she could easily understand him. “Oh. You’re… Jumin, then?”

 

“Yes. I am Jumin Han,” he replied simply. Ella could practically feel the irritation in this man’s voice. “Yoosung told me you are... suspicious…? Of my assistance.”

 

At that, Ella regained her nerve. Even if she couldn’t get after Yoosung about this, she could express it with Jumin. “People that have as much money as you’d need to cover my expenses to throw around don’t just do so out of the goodness of their hearts.”

 

“Don’t they?” he asked in return. The irritation had lessened, replaced with something she couldn’t quite pinpoint and if she didn’t know better she’d have thought it was amusement. “I do not know what kind of well-off men you base your opinion on, but most I know donate to charity and assist friends whenever it strikes their fancy. Their money is theirs to do with as they please. As is mine.”

 

“And why, may I ask, does this **particular** request ‘strike your fancy’?” Ella inquired right back.

 

“Who would not wish to be a savior?”

 

This man was talking in questions. Just like her father used to when he was trying to avoid something. “I don’t want to play games. Stop dancing around the question. What would you have ‘suggested’ while I was laid up in the hospital bed? What’s the long game here?”

 

He surprised her by chuckling, a deep noise that actually made her hair stand on end. “You are very keen. Very well. I was planning to suggest that you work for me. An assistant position. My chief assistant has been complaining rather loudly lately and would quiet if she had an assistant of her own.”

 

“But I don’t know the language,” Ella reminded him. “I barely knew enough to not be super rude, say hi, bye and thank you plus kind of be able to order stuff. I couldn’t read the language at all—”

 

“Both issues can be remedied,” he noted. “The doctors tell me the recovery period is a month and a half for the surgery and yet another similar period for the minimal follow up treatments if everything goes well. Three months is plenty of time for you to learn.”

 

She was about to remark on how difficult it is to learn a new language, especially at her age and while recovering from major surgery and dealing with treatments, but something else clicked in her brain about his commentary. “Wait… how would you know what to ask the doctors about? I only said ‘cancer’ in my note. Not what kind or the stage.”

 

“Keen again. I will not regret hiring you,” Jumin noted, that unfamiliar tone back in his voice again. “Another of Yoosung’s friends, the one that got us your number, also found your diagnosis.”

 

“Those are sealed records, by HIPPA privacy laws,” Ella snapped. “There’s no way anyone could get that.”

 

“Privacy laws are negotiable at best when a hacker is involved.”

 

Ella growled, a long, low sound that would have surprised even her if she’d been less pissed off. “And I’m now just supposed to trust you all? After you dug into records that were supposed to be completely private in a different country?”

 

“We didn’t. Luciel did,” Jumin corrected. “And we did it to assist you.”

 

“I never asked for ‘assistance’.”

 

“Didn’t you? By leaving that note—”

 

Ella cut him off from that line. “Yoosung wasn’t supposed to be able to translate it that fast! I thought I’d have several months at least to pass away before he figured it all out.”

 

“Well, it seems you underestimated him, then. Perhaps you should look at this as the hand of fate intervening.”

 

“I had chosen my fate. Everything is in place. I can fade away and no one will be bothered.”

 

“Whether you like it or not, people will be ‘bothered’ by your passing. They will be much less so if you accept our help.”

 

The realization that he was completely correct hit her like a brick upside the head. In sudden desperation, she clung to anything that came to mind. “You’re asking me to stop being an American, then?” she insisted. “Uproot myself entirely from the life I’ve known. Learn a new language, a new culture?”

 

“Think of it as an entire rebirth,” Jumin replied, clearly not at all phased. “Fitting, since we would be saving your life. You said in your letter that you’d sold everything off to fund the trip and I assume you haven’t been working in that time since most would not allow for such travel. What would you really miss?”

 

He was right. Again. Even so, Ella narrowed her eyes as she was still intent on questioning his reasoning. “You mean **you** would be saving my life.”

 

“I would not have interfered if Yoosung hadn’t pestered me. He told us about your wishes in the letter. I am not one to disobey last wishes… but he was not having any of it.”

 

“You talk like you two are close or something. He said you were his friend, but what’d he do? Harass you for days? So you agreed just to get him to shut up?”

 

“We are friends. I do not have many of those that do not have ulterior motives and this…” Jumin hesitated for the first time in their conversation, as if he needed to search for the proper words. “...was a worthy cause.”

 

There was nothing else that came to her to cling to. She silent for a minute, trying to find anything else but her mind was unusually silent. “So what should I expect?” Ella asked with a heavy sigh. “The process.”

 

“Well, I will send you a one-way ticket here and have a car pick you up to take you to the hospital—”

 

“A physical ticket?” Ella interrupted. She was just clarifying, but realized after she’d spoken up that it may have been a bit rude.

 

“Of course not,” Jumin snapped. “That would take weeks to arrive via physical mail. I will have my assistant send you an electronic copy you can present at the ticket counter.”

 

“Oh. Right.”

 

“As I was saying,” he began again. “You will be taken to the hospital. That day you should have your surgery. Either I or my assistant will visit you after that with materials to help you begin refining your Korean.”

 

“What about immigration issues?” Ella asked, this time actually waiting for a lull in his explanation before speaking up.

 

“Do you at least still have your passport?”

 

“...yeah.”

 

“Then that’s all you’ll need to get here. I will take care of the paperwork to get you started as a ‘naturalized’ citizen of South Korea.”

 

“And how long will that take?”

 

“You can apply for full citizenship after you have lived here for five years.”

 

“Five… years…” Ella echoed, already worried again. “So, what… I’ll be working for you exclusively during that time?”

 

“That was my intention, yes,” Jumin answered. “But adjustments can be made if necessary.”

 

“You would still deal with my citizenship status even if I wasn’t working for you?”

 

“I would get you the information you needed to pursue it yourself. I’m told it’s not terribly difficult, especially if the paperwork has been put in before. Typically applications are accepted more often when there is an employer sponsor, however, so I would suggest that you stick to the plan.”

 

“Your plan.”

 

“Yes. I assure you, I am not unreasonable.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Well, if your inquiries are over… I would like to sleep.”

 

Ella blinked, the gesture repeating quicking for several moments before she managed to gather herself. “Oh! Right. I-it’s like 10 at night there. Sorry!”

 

“Actually approaching midnight,” Jumin corrected.

 

She pulled her phone away from her ear. _11:39_. “Well, shit,” she muttered. Ella quickly put her phone back to her ear. “Sorry, Jumin. Yeah…. I’m… I’ll… look forward to that email, I guess?”

 

“You already apologized once, no need to repeat it for the same offence,” he chastised her. “I will have my assistant book the flight and send you the email.”

 

With that, the phone beeped to indicate the phone call was ended. She leaned back, eyes glazing over as she ran through what had just happened. All at once she realized something, though. “Shit! I should have told him the closest airport—” Ella cut herself off with a mirthless chuckle. “If that hacker asshole can get my HIPPA files he can track my phone. If Jumin really did forget, he’ll just call back.”

 

Ella flicked back to WhatsApp. There were a couple messages from Yoosung, with a couple minutes between each.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Did Jumin call?

 

 **김유성** **★**

It okay?

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella?

 

**Ella**

Yeah. He did. I just got off the phone with him.

 

 **김유성** **★**

Was enough?

 

 **김유성** **★**

I want to see you again…

 

 **김유성** **★**

Ella…

 

**Ella**

Yeah. Yoosung.

 

**Ella**

I’ll be coming back, courtesy of Jumin Han.


	3. Waiting for the New Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's mostly texting and not really any action, but hopefully it'll be interesting anyway! ^_^

A weird couple of days would be an understated way of describing the next three days. Ella had called Kelly to explain the situation immediately after informing Yoosung of the outcome, to which Kelly was confused and relieved. She did give her a bit of shit about how they must not be  **that** good friends since she couldn’t convince Ella to get help. Ella could only laugh nervously. She didn’t tell Kelly  **everything** , but enough and had little interest in trying to explain the differences. After agonizing over the option for a few hours, Ella decided not to make any kind of Fakebook announcement about her life changes but told Kelly through text that she was welcome to tell anyone that really wanted to know about it. What could she have even said? That she was moving to South Korea out of the blue? That would have buried her in a deluge of questions at best. Maybe, one day, she could update it and it’d have sweet pictures of her and Yoosung hanging out… but until things were settled she decided to leave her larger circle of friends out of this.

 

She spent most of the day out on the cabin’s porch exchanging brief texts with Yoosung. He explained about the things he’d like to show her and about his friends. When she asked what the ‘asshole hacker’s name was, Yoosung gave her the Q.Q emoji. He liked Seven, he said, and was very grateful to him for helping him find her. He didn’t want Ella to call him things like that. She could only roll her eyes for the time being, but assured him that now she had some kind of name she’d call him that instead.  _ Usually _ , she added in her head. People with no respect for privacy irritated her beyond belief, so she doubted it’d be the last time she’d call him an asshole. Hopefully it’d just be said in a private chat or on a phone call so that the precious lamb couldn’t hear or see it.

 

Yoosung also texted her about the other people, including Jumin, that were members of this group that he referenced as RFA and ‘pretty much his only friends outside of LOLOL’. Zen, a handsome and narcissistic musical actor as well as Jumin’s assistant Jaehee who was apparently also Zen’s fan. Ella didn’t mention to Yoosung that Jumin had talked about his assistant on their phone call, nor that he planned to have her work for him under Jaehee. She wanted to meet Jaehee in person first. She was already wary of Zen based on the ‘narcissistic’ tag, but she pushed it aside for the time being. Plenty of people who thought highly of themselves would be called that in jest by their friends, after all. Most didn’t know the kind of monstrosity that could arise from real pathological narcissism. Even if he did turn out to be like her father, she could figure out how to avoid him. He also briefly mentioned ‘V’, a photographer who helped start the RFA, but when questioned about it he clammed up and Ella didn’t see a need to push the inquiry.

 

In between their texts, Ella checked her email regularly for hours until she finally went to bed that evening. When she got up the next day it was after 9 AM and she groggily repeated the same process of pouring herself a bowl of cereal and munching away. She shifted uncomfortably on the kitchen stool at first, then decided to go lay down on the couch to help soothe the latest round of cramps. Out of habit now, she pulled her phone with her to check for texts. He’d messaged her something after she’d gone to sleep before, so she answered him now. For once she wasn’t worried about waking him, since she now knew he was up at ridiculous hours.

 

**김유성** **★**

Do you remember air kiss video?

 

**Ella**

That I sent you while I was there, you mean?

 

**김유성** **★**

Yeah! ^^

 

**Ella**

You kept that?

 

**김유성** **★**

Of course!

 

**김유성** **★**

Keep forever~

 

**김유성** **★**

Super Cute~ <3

 

Ella smiled to herself. He was just too adorable. Ella had honestly regretted it after sending it, but knowing that he got so much joy out of something so simple was a relief and a kind of compliment she was very unused to. She was about to start teasing him about it when another message popped up.

 

**김유성** **★**

Can you send one of hand hearts....?

 

**김유성** **★**

Please? ^//^

 

**Ella**

Hand hearts?

 

**김유성** **★**

Yeah! U did it at hotel

 

**김유성** **★**

From TV?

 

Oh, now she remembered. From that commercial for the game that had taken her off guard. A small, devious smirk spread across her lips. He’d opened himself right up for teasing.

 

**Ella**

But that flustered you!

 

**Ella**

Didn’t you say I was acting like a girlfriend?

 

**김유성** **★**

^^;;

 

**김유성** **★**

Yeah…

 

**김유성** **★**

But cute~

 

**김유성** **★**

Please?

 

She was going to push further and tease him about the idea that he wanted her as his girlfriend, but the idea that came to mind as a result was really upsetting. Was he doing all this  **just** to trap her in a romantic relationship? That was ridiculous! It was insulting to him, but thankfully he couldn’t read her mind and she just deflected in their chat.

 

**Ella**

I’ll do it when I’m there.

 

**Ella**

You really don’t want to see me right now.

 

**Ella**

I… kinda stopped caring so much what I looked like when I came to the cabin…

 

**Ella**

>.>;;;

 

**김유성** **★**

No need to look pretty!

 

**김유성** **★**

Just you~ <3

 

Okay.  **That** did deserve some teasing.

 

**Ella**

So I’m not normally pretty?

 

**Ella**

Hm. I see…

 

**김유성** **★**

N-no!

 

**김유성** **★**

Not what said!!!!!

 

**김유성** **★**

Q.Q

 

**김유성** **★**

Ella…!!

 

**김유성** **★**

Am sorry!!!

 

She felt like, were she actually there, she’d be petting his head to help reassure him.

 

**Ella**

It’s okay. I was just teasing~

 

**김유성** **★**

-_-

 

**김유성** **★**

Seven teases too...

 

**김유성** **★**

Thought u be nice…  ㅠㅡㅠ

 

**Ella**

I  **am** nice! ^_~

 

**김유성** **★**

Nice people not tease…

 

**Ella**

Friends can tease each other, Yoosung…

 

**김유성** **★**

Friends?

 

Well, that was unexpected. Ella quirked a brow as she read the message over a couple of times. Was he surprised that they were considered friends after he’d legitimately set up a way for her to live when she would have died?

 

**Ella**

Did you not think we were friends?

 

**김유성** **★**

I hoped

 

Ella didn’t even let him add to that, fingers flying across the screen as her face heated up. It was impossible. This wasn’t some teenage drama! Still, she couldn’t help herself.

 

**Ella**

Wait…

 

**Ella**

Or were you sad to see me say friends?

 

**Ella**

Were you wanting something else…? 0///0

 

**김유성** **★**

Askja;fioen

 

**김유성** **★**

Ahm…

 

**김유성** **★**

Not

 

**김유성** **★**

I 

 

**김유성** **★**

Mean…

 

**김유성** **★**

GAH!

 

**김유성** **★**

I not know???

 

**김유성** **★**

Healthy, first.

 

**김유성** **★**

Be friends?

 

**Ella**

Okay. Friends first~

 

**Ella**

^_~

 

**김유성** **★**

>//<

 

**김유성** **★**

U kill me…

 

**Ella**

Good thing I know CPR, then! ^_^

 

**Ella**

I can bring you back even if you faint!

 

**김유성** **★**

O///////////////////////////O

 

Ella laughed, the sound spilling over into a chorus even as he heard several pings for more messages. When she finally regained herself she wiped at the edges of her eyes to clear up her vision a bit.

 

**김유성** **★**

U do that?!

 

**김유성** **★**

For me?!

 

**김유성** **★**

*To me?!*

 

**김유성** **★**

My heroine~ <3

 

**김유성** **★**

I want be rescued~

 

**Ella**

So that’s your kink, huh…?

 

**김유성** **★**

...kink…?

 

He didn’t know… Ella suddenly felt intensely guilty for what she was about to do. She was ruining her little lamb’s innocence a bit, but he  **did** ask.

 

**Ella**

Something you like in bed

 

**김유성** **★**

In … bed…?

 

**Ella**

Yeah. Like pretending for a partner…?

 

**김유성** **★**

OH

 

**김유성** **★**

OOOHHHHHH

 

**김유성** **★**

>//<

 

**김유성** **★**

Maybe? I not know

 

**Ella**

You’ve never roleplayed?

 

**Ella**

I could tell you about it

 

**김유성** **★**

No!

 

**김유성** **★**

I mean

 

**김유성** **★**

Not that you

 

**김유성** **★**

Aegh…

 

**김유성** **★**

I just not done it

 

Yet another surprise and it honestly made Ella feel even worse. Poor baby hadn’t even had sex yet? A small part of her clamored that she could ‘fix’ that, but it wasn’t a defect. It was simply a fact. He’d chosen not to, for his own reasons.

 

**Ella**

Well, that impressive, honestly.

 

**Ella**

I’m sure you had people who were interested and you turned them down.

 

**Ella**

I’m not as strong willed as you are. >.>;;;

 

**김유성** **★**

So you…

 

**Ella**

Yeah. Experienced

 

Yoosung didn’t respond to that. She hoped it was because he was trying to be nice or just wasn’t sure what to say. After a few more moments of virtual silence, however, she couldn’t help herself.

 

**Ella**

I’m sorry if that’s disappointing…

 

**Ella**

Like I said, I don’t have the willpower you do

 

**Ella**

But, hey~ That just means that if we become more than friends I can teach you! ^_~

 

**김유성** **★**

Not problem!!

 

**김유성** **★**

U r older… so of course…

 

**김유성** **★**

>//<

 

**김유성** **★**

I was just good student

 

**Ella**

So good that you didn’t have time for a romance? Hm…

 

**Ella**

I really admire your work ethic, then! ^_^

 

**Ella**

To be honest…

 

She noted that he’d started to reply but stopped after the latest message was delivered. Ella wasn’t sure why she wanted to tell him this, but it felt like the right thing to say.

 

**Ella**

I’m kind of sad that I did.

 

**Ella**

I don’t think I really let anyone in

 

**Ella**

No partners ever lived with me

 

**Ella**

Or knew the full extent of my life before I knew them

 

**Ella**

And they were short term things…

 

**Ella**

… T_T … fuck. That’s depressing to think about....

 

**Ella**

… T_T … so … I guess I’ve never actually had a ‘real’ relationship…?

 

**Ella**

Ooof… -_-;;;;

 

**Ella**

Urgh. I’m going to check and see if that ticket’s in my email yet. 

 

**Ella**

Need to get my mind off the fact that I’m so pathetic…

 

She refocused on her phone to get to her email, temporarily ignoring the messages that Yoosung was sending her. It was hard to not read them, since they rushed in all at once like he was panicking or something. Still, once the email app finally loaded up and fetched her mail, her heart lifted. There was the email! The attached download was named in Korean characters, as was part of the email address but the email body was in English.

 

_ Ms. Warley, _

 

__ _ My name is Jaehee Kang and I am chief assistant to Mr. Jumin Han. He instructed me to purchase this ticket for you and make certain you had an electronic copy to present at the counter. _

_     Please take care not to lose or delete this email until your flight tomorrow at 6:00 and please respond promptly to let me know you’ve received this so I know this task is completed. _

 

_ Sincerely, _

_ Jaehee Kang _

 

Ella quickly wrote up a reply, mimicking Jaehee’s formality and use of Jumin’s first and last name in the email even though the latter seemed a bit weird. Perhaps his father worked at the company as well and they used his first name to distinguish between the two?

 

_ Ms. Kang, _

 

__ _ Thank you so much for getting this taken care of! I will be certain to catch the flight. _

 

_      I am looking forward to meeting you as well as Mr. Jumin Han. _

 

_ Best Wishes, _

_ Ella Warley _

 

The appropriate reply made, Ella turned her attention back to the chat.

 

**김유성** **★**

U r NOT pathetic!!

 

**김유성** **★**

Best person!

 

**김유성** **★**

I get mad if u say mean things

 

**김유성** **★**

But not @ u…

 

**김유성** **★**

Say only good, okay?

 

**김유성** **★**

^^

 

**Ella**

Thank you, angel~

 

**Ella**

❤

 

**Ella**

Jaehee emailed me the ticket.

 

**Ella**

Tomorrow at 6:00 I’ll be getting on a plane to come back

 

**김유성** **★**

YAY~

 

**김유성** **★**

SO EXCITED >//<

 

**김유성** **★**

Text when land

 

**Ella**

Jumin said that I’d be taken to the hospital from the airport. 

 

**Ella**

You’ll probably have to wait until after the surgery to see me.

 

**김유성** **★**

ㅠㅡㅠ

 

**김유성** **★**

...OK…

 

**Ella**

^_^

 

**Ella**

I’ll text you when I’m awake again. I promise.

 

**Ella**

I want to see you as soon as possible too, angel~ <3

 

**김유성** **★**

>//<

 

**김유성** **★**

… feels like dream…

 

**김유성** **★**

I want hugs

 

**김유성** **★**

So I know this really real

 

She smiled down at her phone, face lightly flushing pink. He was just so precious. In truth they barely knew each other, and that fact kept eating at the back of her mind, but she did her best to simply ignore that fact for the time being. She wanted to be closer to him and he clearly wanted something similar with her… so that was all that mattered in the end. Right?

 

**Ella**

Just be gentle with me.

 

**Ella**

More than likely whatever they do will be major surgery

 

**Ella**

So I’ll probably be in pain. Or at least be sensitive to movement...

 

**김유성** **★**

I can be gentle~ 

 

**김유성** **★**

I will be!

 

**김유성** **★**

U r treasure~

 

**김유성** **★**

must be careful~

 

That settled, Ella put down her phone to start gathering up her things. She had most of the day to only pack the tiny amount of stuff she had, but it would be better to have everything done and ready as soon as possible.


	4. The First Leg of a Long Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella finally gets on a plane and makes a fool of herself while making a friend.
> 
> I apologize that this doesn't really have the RFA in it, but we're moving along! ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: I've changed up the system with dialogue - now anything in italics is English, as it will be the minority language from now on. Standard dialogue is Korean.

By the time Ella’s flight time rolled around she’d been sitting at the terminal for an hour. Boarding was no issue and she was seated in “prestige class”, which, she found out after asking a flight attendant, was essentially Korean Air ‘first class’ but the woman insisted it was even better than what she would have found on American airlines. It shouldn’t have been shocking, but after 9 years of not being wealthy enough to afford a regular **coach** seat this was beyond luxury for her. The seats had plenty of legroom, could apparently recline entirely to be like a bed and she was informed that they’d have a multiple course meal along the way if she wanted it. There were TVs mounted in front of the seats and one armrest portion looked more like a partial partition between each seat which appeared to be able to be put up to separate you from the person sitting next to you. It’d be a little cramped, but she was glad for the possibility.

 

The staff was very attentive and did their best to insist on helping her with her bags but she didn’t let them. She had done this much on her own, damnit, and that wasn’t about to change. It was bad enough that she was accepting this flight and treatment and life. The least she could do to feel like a normal person was tend to her own baggage. Thankfully she’d just managed to politely tell them that she could handle it enough times that the left her alone.

 

She had been surprised that morning to find that she only needed her messenger bag and a duffle bag that she’d put in the overhead bin. Her travel suitcase with almost all her clothes stuffed in it was already checked. That was it. All she owned. The reminder of just how much she’d willingly sacrificed to fade away was stark and almost made her shedding tears. She was being saved from this, but, at the same time she felt like part of her own agency was being taken away. She’d committed to her prior plan wholeheartedly and had no fear of death. It felt like a waste to throw that plan away, but she’d just as willingly changed course for one hell of a deal. Only time would tell if it was actually a good one or not.

 

She still wasn’t certain why Jumin was going to bankroll her operation and take care of her immigration status. _Was it really not that big of a deal for him?_ She couldn’t help but ask herself. _He must really be a terribly wealthy and connected man, if that’s the case._ It left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth, since she’d known quite a few men with a great deal of power and influence when she lived with her father and none of them were any more moral than sharks. A small part of her recalled that her father had said such things over and over, but Ella knew she’d seen how cutthroat they could be first hand as well. Her memory, however, was also quick to remind her of Jumin calling her out for using her own prior experiences to dictate her opinions on anyone she now encountered with similar traits. She had to learn to let go, both of her plan and her past. Holding on to either wouldn’t help her when there was no other direction to walk but forward. Still, it was a sentiment that was easy to say and much harder to execute.

 

Ella’s gaze wandered around the cabin as other passengers came on board. _I wonder how much this ticket cost him…_ she thought. After a moment of throwing out random numbers in her head, she stopped herself before looking it up. She really didn’t want to know. The moment she started keeping tab on how much she literally owed Jumin the more she’d regret taking him up on his offer. She knew how much the basic surgery she’d need would cost here in the states and that was far more than she ever thought she could work off for him. He really must have been doing this for a sense of satisfaction or altruism, because she sure as hell couldn’t think of any other reasons. He was transplanting an American tourist into a place she once visited for a week, intending to teach her the language entirely, not to mention that was **after** giving her **cancer** treatments that technically weren’t even 100% guaranteed to work, and then have her work as an assistant for him? It didn’t make sense to Ella and, frankly, the harder she tried to wring out the sensible reason or reasons for it the more of a headache she got.

 

She just did her best to refocus on being grateful and to ignore the latest round of now familiar lower abdominal cramping as she got herself settled. A few meds from her messenger bag later and she was able to ignore the pain enough to relax. It was a pleasant surprise to find that there was apparently no one to fill the seat next to her as it was empty when the flight attendants closed the airplane door. She wanted to ask if there was a mistake or if they wanted to bump someone up from business so someone in economy could have a better day, but decided not to. Ella had a sneaking suspicion about it, but didn’t want to confirm it. She just contented herself with the idea that even if they did move someone next to her, she wouldn’t mind. She could only hope they weren’t chatty and Korean because she was still quite hopeless with the language overall.

 

She was glad the flight attendants seemed to speak both English and Korean fluently and she had half a mind to invite one to sit down with her so she could practice with them. Then, of course, she actually remembered that there were other people around and that a vocab lesson would probably annoy them so she let the idea go. She could just go back over her quick translation book she’d gotten for the original trip again until she had that memorized. Hopefully her pronunciation would be right without correction, but she was far from a language prodigy so she doubted she’d get that lucky.

 

Once they went over all the safety information and the flight took off from the tarmac, Ella tapped on the TV in front of her out of curiosity with the remote that was built into her seat armrest. She began to hear people talking that weren’t the voices of her fellow passengers and realized that there was a plush headset resting between her and the window. Without hesitation, she grasped it and put it on. Apparently they were also noise-cancelling because the hum of the cabin all but disappeared, replaced by crisp sounds of dialogue and a well-appointed musical score. She quickly realized it was in Korean, but she didn’t change the channel or ask for help. When her head had tilted for the third time, however, she felt a hand at her shoulder and pushed the headset off that ear to listen.

 

“ _Do you want to change the channel_?” The attendant was a woman either in her 20’s or 30’s, lean and her long hair up in a well-pinned bun on top of her head. Small strands of her rich brown hair escaped the hair-do, but that likely had more to do with how much she had been working since she created the do than with her proficiency. Her hazel eyes were warm and comforting, like her voice, and Ella found herself wishing she looked anywhere near as pretty as this woman.

 

Ella shook her head after redirecting her thoughts to the question that had been asked. “No, thank you,” she started, in her hopefully correctly pronounced Korean. The rest she had no idea how to say in Korean so she flopped back over to English. “ _I’m trying to learn Korean so it’s better if I listen to it too_ .” She offered the woman a proper smile, glad that she could understand both languages and that she hadn’t laughed at her earlier attempt. “ _I appreciate your concern, though_!”

 

“ _Certainly. Please let us know if you need anything or change your mind, okay?_ ”

 

Ella just nodded and the lady went back to her place with the other flight attendants. She noticed that they were smiling and giggling amongst themselves and she hoped that they were just saying she was cute for trying to learn or something. She pushed the headset back over her ears and tried to regain her focus.

 

It wasn’t a particularly dense plot, she quickly realized even without the aid of knowing the language. Everyone was very expressive and it was clearly a romance plot with a fair amount of pining and dramatic miscommunications. “ _Not so different from an American sitcom or rom-com, I suppose,_ ” she noted quietly to herself. In the end, the girl captured the guy’s heart and the film showed them walking into a house with hands clasped tightly together. The door shut behind them only after a quick but passionate kiss. _If only real life could be that simple_ , she thought to herself as she chuckled aloud. _Though I will give them points for it being a story about a girl chasing a guy instead of the other way around…_

 

As the credits rolled she realized that a headache was threatening to overcome her so she tapped the power button for the TV to turn it off. She could just sleep for now. Surely they would wake her to ask if she wanted to eat later? The staff had already been so attentive thus far that she simply couldn’t believe otherwise. She left the headphones on, just to dull the noise of the plane and all but silence any noise from the other passengers, before leaning back in her chair. She adjusted herself in it until she had it set like a recliner so she could properly relax. Her body welcomed the idea of sleep for the first time in a long while as she allowed herself to sink into the new positioning. Maybe the gravity was reduced on a plane because it was so high up? Or was it really just a comfy seat and proper weight distribution that made her feel like she was almost weightless? Ella wasn’t sure, and after a few moments of pondering she no longer cared.

 

It wasn’t until she felt a light pushing at her shoulder that she woke up again. The flight attendant that had talked to her before was smiling at her. “ _I am sorry to disturb you_ ,” she started as soon as Ella pushed her headphones to the side so she could hear.

 

Ella shook her head and offered a sleepy smile before stretching and yawning. “ _No, no… are we there_ ?” The movement pushed the headphones off her head and they clattered to the wall beside her even though Ella tried to catch them. Thankfully they didn’t get stuck because there wasn’t enough room for them between the wall and her seat. “ _Oops_ …” she muttered to herself, face taking on a slight pink tint.

 

The flight attendant laughed, it was a refreshing and bright sound and Ella felt even more at ease even though she was pretty sure the woman was laughing at her. “ _Not for some time yet. I woke you to see if_ _you wanted to eat_.”

 

“ _Oh! The meals… right… is it just a set menu_?”

 

“ _Not entirely. We have a few options. Would you like to hear the full descriptions of each_?”

 

“ _Oh, no, I think I’ll be okay with just an overview. Thank you, though! It’s amazing you’ve_ _already memorized the menu_!”

 

She chuckled, leaning over the seat next to Ella so she could speak more quietly. “ _Well, don’t tell_ _anyone else this, but it rarely changes so you learn it pretty well after a few months_.” She offered Ella a wink and it was the American’s turn to chuckle.

 

“ _Your secret is safe with me_!”

 

“ _Thank you_ ~” Her smile broadened again for a moment before she stood back up and continued on. “ _For the meal, we can sum it up with chicken, meat or fish. Every one of them comes with a chocolate and berry cake as dessert, too!_ ”

 

“ _Sounds fabulous,_ ” Ella kept her composure but truthfully just the word chocolate made her excited for the prospect. “ _I think I will chose the fish!_ ”

 

“ _Good choice! We just got new stock today. Let us know if you need anything else. We do serve alcohol on this flight, though it will be an extra cost._ ”

 

“ _Could I have a Spritz?_ ”

 

“ _Of course! I’ll get that for you and be back with your meal shortly_.” That said, she slipped away to the sheltered area nearby for staff.

 

More giggling ensued shortly after her arrival amongst her fellow crewmembers and Ella just told herself it was still again something about her being silly or cute. She couldn’t very well get depressed again or get angry with her for a perceived insult and thus make a fool of herself so the only real answer was to not visibly react. She’d already made enough of a fool of herself by dropping those headphones earlier.

 

The lemon-lime soda arrived within minutes, in a glass that Ella swore was crystal and it almost made her hand shake with nerves when holding it for fear of dropping it. If the attendant noticed, she chose not to comment on it and just assured the American that her meal would be out shortly.

 

When the meal finally arrived, Ella was holding the glass she’d been given with both hands and scrambled a bit when the plate was brought. “ _Uhm_ … _uhm_ …” she started, trying to undo the latch for the table tray. The flight attendant shifted the tray and reached over to help, but Ella managed to get it done by herself and the tray popped open, startling her a little. “ _Sorry_ ,” she offered the mumbled apology and held out her hands for the plate. The attendant offered a small, almost pitying smile before handing over the meal and retreating again.

 

The food was delicious, as promised, and Ella was surprised to see actual silverware included on the plate. Normally meals served on the go had plastic utensils… but she certainly wasn't complaining. She just felt a little bad for the flight attendants since that would make their jobs have yet another task. As she nibbled at the last bit of her fish, she wondered off-hand if Jumin traveled like this himself. If, to him, all this was normal. It was a very weird thought and she pushed herself out of it quickly. Even though he would be helping her, she didn’t want to get used to his lifestyle. She could never afford it without his help and she didn’t want to be leaning on him any more than necessary.

 

Her attention was quickly taken away by the fact that the flight attendant had brought a smaller plate with the chocolate and berries. It was almost a bar, but had the consistency of light and airy mousse aside from the whole raspberries hidden inside. It was amazing, the darker chocolate perfectly complimenting the raspberries. Clearly this was made by a professional. She barely resisted asking the flight attendant if there was a chef on board and if she could thank them. Instead, she just made sure to give back the plate with a smile and compliment regarding how delicious it was.

 

With her meal finished, Ella was happily sunk back down in her seat to relax once more. The pains and cramping had returned with vengeance while she enjoyed her food so she pulled up her messenger bag and took out a ‘therapeutic’ dose of meds before popping them into her mouth. Thankfully she had a sip of her Spritz left to wash it down instead of having to swallow them straight. She fought with herself, wincing, as she kept still and waited for the meds to kick in. Ella wanted to sleep as much as she could on this flight. She couldn’t focus enough to read, write or even play games.

 

When she woke up again, it was to the same flight attendant that had been dealing with her this whole time. “ _The plane has landed…_ ” she said softly as Ella blinked her eyes hard and stretched. “ _You are welcome to disembark early with the rest of premier class, or wait._ ”

 

“ _I don’t have much. I’ll leave when the rest of premier does_.”

 

When the flight attendant nodded and moved to leave, however, Ella spoke up again. “ _Uhm… I just wanted to make sure that I thanked you_.” With that, the attendant stopped and a tiny smile parted her lips but she stood quiet so she could listen. Ella just kept charging forward before she lost her nerve or train of thought. “ _I get that this is your job and everything, but you’ve been really nice and it made the trip a lot better. Can I get your name so I can tell the company how good you are and that they should totally give you a raise?_ ”

 

The flight attendant laughed again, though it was a gentle sound that she attempted to muffle with a hand over her mouth. “ _There’s really no need to do that, but my name is Jin-ae_.”

 

Ella tilted her head, a small smile parting her lips and eyes shimmering. “ _Jin-ae? Like the Jinhae romance bridge? That’s really cool~!_ ”

 

Jin-ae smiled broadly at her. “ _Oh, so you know about that? You must have really done your research!_ ”

 

“ _Yeah, I did! I was here once before and went to the bridge… about a month ago._ ” Ella stopped herself, her expression turning to a bit of confusion. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to say.

 

Jin-ae seemed to catch on to her nerves and gestured to the seat next to her. Ella nodded and Jin-ae took a seat. “ _And why are you coming back so quickly, may I ask?_ ”

 

“ _It’s complicated_ ,” Ella answered, though she offered an apologetic smile for being so vague. “ _But I will be here a long time, I think_.”

 

The attendant seemed to think this over for a time, attention shifting off into nowhere as she turned it over in her mind. After a few quiet moments, several passengers shuffling around them as they retrieved their luggage so they could leave as soon as the door opened, she looked back up to Ella and her smile had returned. “ _Well, I hope you get to go to the romance bridge again and enjoy your time here. We’re a very kind people. I’m sure you’ll find good friends._ ”

 

Ella offered her a broad grin. “ _I already have. This flight was a gift from one_.” She didn’t realize she’d said that last bit until after it had come out of her mouth and regretted it but decided not to try and clear that up. It was, after all, the truth.

 

That actually seemed to shock Jin-ae and she leaned back towards the aisle a bit, her eyes wide. “ _Your friend must be very...interesting._ ”

 

Ella chuckled, the sound mostly mirthless. “ _A lot of things in my life are ‘interesting’ at this moment…_ ”

 

Jin-ae looked up towards the cockpit when a small chime echoed through the plane. Apparently it was some kind of notice for the crew. “ _I’m glad I got to meet you and talk to you—_ ” she paused, searching her memory.

 

“ _I never told you my name. It’s Ella._ ”

 

She was relieved by the save. “ _Oh, good. I was hoping that I wasn’t losing my memory so early in life._ ” Jin-ae chuckled, her smile returning. “ _Well, Ella, I have enjoyed helping you with this part of your journey and hope the rest of it goes as smoothly for you_.”

 

“ _I hope so too. Thank you_ , _Jin-ae._ ” Ella replied with a long, low nod.

 

She excused herself and Ella forced herself to get up from her seat. By the time she’d shuffled her way towards the aisle with her messenger bag most of premier class had already deplaned. A quick drop of her messenger bag into the empty seat before her and then an easy reach up and she dragged her duffle bag out. She grimaced as it all but fell out onto her face. “ _Freakin’ … fuck…_ ” she muttered to herself.

 

“ _Are you alright, Ella?_ ” It was Jin-ae, the American didn’t even have to look to know that.

 

“ _Yeah. I got it. Thanks. I’m just doomed to be a super clutz today…_ ” She shuffled her messenger bag back onto her shoulder and put the handles of her duffle bag off the same shoulder.

 

“ _Okay… if you’re certain…_ ” Jin-ae did not sound convinced at all. Ella could almost feel her standing nearby just in case anything else happened. The assumption was proven true when she turned and was greeted with a shy smile from the flight attendant. “ _Good luck! I hope you have a great time for however long you’re here_.”

 

“ _I will do my best_ ,” Ella replied with another low nod before shuffling around Jin-ae and out towards the exit.

 

She realized as she was walking out towards the terminal that she wasn’t certain how this was going to work. Back home, you’d have gone to baggage claim and someone would be waiting there for you. Ella immediately looked for signage that was marked with a suitcase symbol as she came out.

 

It wasn’t too hard to spot and she headed right for it but as her eyes scanned the crowds out of habit for her own safety she spotted and interesting sight. It wasn’t ever day that someone dyed their hair white or bleached it. This lanky guy had either done it at home and had red hair normally or he had an extremely talented ombre from white or silver to pink style dye job done. For a brief moment as she walked his way she caught his gaze, a stunning mint green, and she was fairly certain at that point that this guy was just into being different. She half expected to see piercings all over his ears and face in general. She couldn’t tell if there was anything in his nose or mouth, though, since he was wearing a face mask. It seemed odd for a moment, but she flicked her gaze around enough to find at least four other people doing the same. When she sought him out in the crowds again, however, she couldn’t find him. Even though she was probably under some kind of time constraints she paused and took some time to look, going up on her tiptoes for a few moments to see if she could pick him out again. There was a brief moment where she thought she’d seen his crazy dye job again, but after a good minute of looking she gave up.

 

As Ella began to move again, she realized that someone was coming right towards her. It was a plain looking man in a well-tailored black suit, probably in his 40’s. She was wary at first, judging if he were actually going towards her in particular by adjusting her walking path. As they crossed paths, he reached out. She pulled back, recoiling proactively from his touch, which seemed to confuse him. “Miss Warley?”

 

It was weird to hear her name said with Korean honorifics, but Ella nodded. “Yes…?”

 

“I am here to drive you.” He was hesitant, as if he was trying to filter down what he had to say.

 

“Do you… _by any chance know English_?” she asked him tentatively.

 

“ _Yes. Not good at_.”

 

“ _Oh…_ ”

 

He reached out again very slowly, likely because of her prior reaction, and tapped her duffle bag strap. Another string of words came out, but she only recognized ‘bag’ and that was all she needed to know.

 

“Thank you,” she managed, slipping the bag off her shoulder and handing it to him.

 

He easily took it from her and hefted it onto his opposite arm. After a moment’s hesitation he pointed to her messenger bag. Ella shook her head. She didn’t want to part with that bag. It had her documentation as well as the few electronic devices she still had to her name and a couple particularly personal items in it. She wasn’t about to trust any of those things to anyone else at this point.

 

With that exchange complete, he seemed a bit uncomfortable for a moment before he said something and then ‘please’, which Ella assumed was asking her to follow because he waved his hand forward and turned away. She followed far more dutifully than she would have liked, but she was already worried about all this. She was about to go into surgery. The memory of that fact coming back was enough to put her into minor anxiety. Surely Jumin had the best of the best to work on her, so she really didn’t have much to worry about… but she was so used to doing things on her own that not knowing who was working on her and their background was irking her. Ella watched for her suitcase once they got to the baggage claim area, stopping at the right carousel to wait. Her driver still seemed nervous and adjusted slightly from foot to foot as they stood there. She wished she could talk to him properly, but for the moment she was pretty lost beyond the very basics of the language.

 

When she did notice her suitcase finally come around, she stepped closer but her driver got in front of her. The word he spoke was unfamiliar to her but he pointed to several suitcases and she got the idea. “ _That one_ ,” she emphasized, noting a beat up navy suitcase.

 

He seemed relieved to have another task after their waiting and all but surged forward to grab the suitcase. With a practiced ease, he pulled open the strolling handle and pulled it along behind him. A short command issued from his mouth and Ella assumed it to be ‘come’ or something similar so she stepped into action to follow him. She already didn’t like having to be so dependent, so she already knew that she’d be spending all the time free time after the surgery she could to properly learning the language. _Actually_ , she thought as they finally arrived at what was apparently this driver’s car, _I can review the booklet in the car. It certainly won’t hurt_.

 

The pair continued the last leg of their journey in silence, Ella only shifting her attention away from her basics book to her phone because she remembered that she promised to text Yoosung.

 

_**Ella** _

_I’m here, angel._

_**Ella** _

_On the way to the hospital now._

_**Ella** _

_I’m not sure which one, but hopefully Jumin told you._

_**Ella** _

_Hopefully it won’t be too late for you to visit when they’re done._

_Or, if something goes wrong and I’m done_ , Ella thought to herself. The pessimism was surprising even to her as she put her phone back in her pocket. That was, apparently, yet another thing she’d have to work on here. The last thing a person recovering from a normally deadly disease needed to be doing was dragging themselves down emotionally for no logical reason.


	5. Saeran POV [Mint Eye "VN"]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little sidetrack to show that we did indeed encounter someone the fandom knows well in the prior chapter and a little heads up for you readers that Ella won't be getting. ^_~

_There she goes_ , he noted to himself, mint green eyes glued to the back of the woman he was sent to watch. She wasn’t hard to pick out, clothes alone rather frumpy and foreign. Her lack of makeup just made him wonder if she’d look prettier with it and her hair down. He shook the thoughts away with a sharp shake of his head. He forced his thoughts to another avenue, remembering that he hadn’t thought much of her when Savior first asked him to trace her after seeing recent RFA chats. _That false paradise_ , he hissed inwardly. It was that place that that bastard Luciel worked with.

Before he got too pissed off at the redhead he wanted to make suffer, he redirected his thoughts to the mission at hand. Savior had been wanting a way in and this woman was, according to the chats, important enough to at least one member to allow them an easier chance at access than skirting around and hacking. He didn’t understand why Savior wanted another access point, considering he was making headway learning Luciel’s patterns and this Ella lady was in bad enough shape to need to be in a hospital, but that wasn’t his place. Savior did the thinking. He was merely her hands and he relished the chance to prove he could serve her even in the darkness of the wider world. Still, anxiety filtered into his mind as he reached for his phone to report.

There were a few rings before the call was picked up. “Did she arrive?” were the only words that greeted his ears. His Savior’s voice was firm, but calm. _She isn’t upset_ , he tried to calm himself, _just asking for information._

Thankfully, this time he had it. He knew he’d done exactly what she requested. “Yes, Savior. She’s being escorted to a car now.”

“Good,” she began. He could almost see her small, pleased smile and relished the image. That, as well as the verbal praise made a tiny pleased shiver caress his spine. The moment, however, was quickly over as she continued on to the next instruction. “Now follow them. You’ll need to know which hospital to go to.”

“Of course.” A tiny part of him bitterly wondered if she thought him stupid; _of course I’d have to know where to go. You want me to give her the elixir._ The plan hadn’t made sense to him at first, but once Savior told him that Ella would be in a hospital, she barely needed to tell him the rest of the plan. A night shift nurse taking a sedated patient down the halls in a wheelchair? That wouldn’t cause any trouble and he’d be halfway back to Magenta by the time they realized she was gone.

“Savior?” he asked, wanting to be certain he followed her exact plan.

“Yes?”

“Should I give her the entirety?”

He heard a heavy sigh come from the other end and panic reared to life in his gut. “Give her as much as you need to get her out. You know everyone reacts differently to the mixture.”

“Yes, Savior. I will—”

She didn’t even allow him to finish, instead segwaying into a reminder. “I expect success. Nothing less, as this is all for our everlasting paradise. Do you understand, Saeran?”

“Of course,” he replied, bowing his head in deference even though she was nowhere near him. Pink-tinged hair partially obstructed his view of the target vehicle for a few moments before he straightened up again and blinked rapidly to clear his gaze. “Anything for our paradise.”

 


End file.
